Hot weather may bring N.J.'s first heat wave of the summer this week

View full sizeStar-Ledger file photoBeachgoers enjoy the sand and surf in Belmar. The beach might be the best place to go for relief later this week, when a substantial heat wave is expected to hit the Garden State.

STATEWIDE — Temperatures were in the 60s to 70s today but starting Wednesday, things are going to heat up, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

"It looks like right now we are predicting temperatures Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to be 90 degrees or higher," said meteorologist Kristin Kline of the NWS.

The definition of a heat wave, she notes, is three or more consecutive days of 90 degree or higher temperatures.

Thursday will be a scorcher — both Newark and New Brunswick are expected to reach 96 degrees. That could mean record-breaking heat in New Brunswick. The highest temperature on record is 97 degrees in 1923. It’s a bit short of Newark’s warmest day. The mercury there climbed to triple digits in 1953. but it is well above the average, 82 degrees.

However, Wednesday and Friday won’t be quite as hot, Kline said. Those two days will determine whether New Jerseyans experience their first heat wave of the year this week.

"It’s not a slam-dunk situation. They may approach records," Kline said.

The heat coincides with the official start of summer, which will occur at 7:09 P.M. on Wednesday. That is when the sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator.

Of more terrestrial concern is what the impending heat means for our economy. As expected, strong sun is mighty welcome down the shore where anecdotal evidence points to a proportional rise in sick days as the temperature climbs.

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerWearing his umbrella hat to keep cool Alberto Colân, an employee of Statewide Striping, takes a break as he performs touch up paint work after they painted new traffic lanes along Bergen Street. in Newark. Hot weather in the area in this file photo from June 8, 2011.

"The way some people treat it, they treat like an extra weekend day," said Ed Brannagan, assistant general manager of Martell’s Tiki Bar in Point Pleasant Beach. "People will start going on their company’s website and see how many sick days they have. It kind of puts people in the seats."

Kline also noted that folks should take common-sense precautions as temperatures rise: drink plenty of water, if you’re working outside be sure to take plenty of breaks in the shade and wear light, cool clothing.

By Friday, expect the mercury to fall with a cold front coming in from the west and moving through the mid-Atlantic region, bringing possible scattered showers.